Gimme shelter

WE KNOW that Homo erectus used stone tools. And now it seems likely that our ancient ancestor built shelters, too. Japanese archaeologists have discovered the remains of what is believed to be the world's oldest artificial structure on a hillside at Chichibu, north of Tokyo.

The site has been dated to half a million years ago, a time when Homo erectus lived in the region. It consists of what seem to be 10 post holes, which form two irregular pentagons thought to be the remains of two huts. Thirty stone tools were found scattered around the site.

"It's a nice find and it does sound important," says Chris Stringer, head of the human origins group at London's Natural History Museum. "If this is correctly dated and correctly interpreted, it is the first good evidence from 500 000 years ago of a hut structure made by these people." Before the discovery, ...

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